Monday, 11 February 2013

This seems to be particularly accurate when referring to children or a pregnant woman. So tonight, that's what we did... and it was awesome.

I would like to start off here by reminding everyone to be very cautious when deep frying, especially if you do it as I do and fry on the stove top.

Chicken Strips:

8 chicken tenders (that little strip at the back of the breast) or 3 chicken breasts cut into thick strips

1 cup GF Breadcrumbs. You can use store bought or do as I do and save the heals of the frozen sandwich bread in the freezer, or any gf bread mishaps you may have kicking around. Just throw them in the food processor for a minute or two.

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 TBSP salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 Eggs

2 TBSP cold water

Oil for frying (canola, peanut, safflower, grape seed)

Combine all ingredients except chicken, eggs, and water, in a bowl. In a separate bowl lightly beat eggs and water. One strip at a time, dip in egg, tap off excess and then dip in breadcrumbs. I like to give the chicken a light press with my hand while in the breadcrumbs so they stick better. Lightly shake off and place on clean plate.

Fry in oil heated to 325 F for about 5 minutes or until an internal temperature or 165 F is reached.

Remove from oil and allow to drain on paper towel.

Zucchini Chips:

2 or 3 zucchinis, depending on size.

Oil for frying

Sea salt

I recommend a mandolin for this job, however you can also use the slicing attachment on your food processor (the thinnest one), or a knife, but uniform and thin slices are a must.

Slice Zucchini 1/8 in thick. drop them into the oil that is at 325 F. When dropping them in it is best to make sure that none of them are stuck together, I usually use the "card dealing" method. This helps to ensure crispy chips. Fry until quite browned and remove from oil draining well. Lay out on paper towel and season with the sea salt immediately. These are best eaten right away.

I made a little spicy aoli for myself, but the kids just had good old plum sauce and ketchup. Use whatever you like best to dip.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and would, as always, love to hear your feedback. Thanks for popping by.

Saturday, 9 February 2013

This has been a considerably warm winter with fairly minimal snow accumulation, until yesterday.

Woke up this morning to a beautiful blue sky, warm sun, and a TON of snow. This was the view from the back door, which I was not venturing out in, however Tiamo Was loving it.

With a gorgeous white blanket covering everything and being snowed in for the night last night, it only seemed appropriate to curl up on the couch with a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate. It is very easy to make hot chocolate dairy free and tastes Divine; A chocolate lover's dream. As requested by a certain little man this particular cup had lots of marshmallows bobbing around in it, but you could use as many or little as you like. I like mine with a little whipped coconut cream on top.

Heavenly Hot Chocolate Recipe:

1/2 TBSP cocoa powder

2 TBSP sugar

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup non dairy milk (I use coconut milk)

Garnish of choice (marshmallows, choc shavings, candy cane, etc.)﻿

In a sauce pot, bring sugar, cocoa powder and water to a boil for three minutes, give or take.

Pour in "milk" and heat to desired drinking temp. Do not boil. Pour into a large mug and garnish however you like, and serve. That's it! Super quick, super simple and soooo good. As always feel free to adjust to your specific tastes with more or less sugar or cocoa. This is a simple base to start from. let your creativity flow.

Hope you enjoy and don't forget that Hot chocolate always tastes best when accompanied with a good book.